CROSBY, Minn. — Pain is the operative word in the unfortunate story of 14-year-old David Gibbons. It is a pain he has endured both physically and emotionally after being punched in the groin by another student as he changed classes at Crosby Ironton High School.
“One o’clock in the morning he woke me up and told me he was in excruciating pain,” recalls Christy Gibbons, David’s mom. Not long after, David was in surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Brainerd having his right testicle removed.
“This may be called a game, but it’s not a game. It’s dangerous and it needs to stop,” said Christy.
It’s a notion seconded by Dr. Scott Wheeler, a Brainerd urologist.
“It’s just gotten way out of control,” said Wheeler, who now performs “three to four surgeries a year” on boys with ruptured testicles and other complications of being groin punched – with dozens more coming in with less severe injuries. “It’s high school, junior high, elementary school,” said Wheeler.
Dubbed “sack tapping” by some students, the practice is now featured in dozens of homemade videos on YouTube.